New York School for the 'Uneducated'
by Matchin' Laces
Summary: It's Back! The street kids of New York City are forced to go to school, paid for by the rich people of the city. Chapter 12 up!
1. Default Chapter

Notes: first of all, I know that it's been a while. This story was deleted early, because of the casting call but now it's back. Just know that I might be kinda slow in updating because I am about to finish high school and I also have a job. I will try to update whenever possible. I just missed posting stories on here as often as I used to. Please visit my message board.It'sin my profile.

I do not own the newsies. I only own the characters of Aqua, Needle, Comedy, Pillow, and Joseph. All othercharacters belong to their respectable owners.

Chapter 1

New York School for the Uneducated. I read the name in disgust at their choice of words, thinking of how they could make the name any more obvious. How about saying street rats…homeless…heathen…there were so many ways to say it.

The next thing I took notice of was the building itself. It was obvious that they'd put hours of work into it…and I mean hours. The crumbling brick structure looked like it hadn't been touched in years and exposed too much to the weather.

The ground surrounding the area was still littered with trash that people didn't bother throwing away. Just be glancing at it, you could tell that it used to be an old factory, probably still burnt and blackened on the inside from a fire years ago.

It made me wonder how they even got teachers to apply for jobs. I decided that those people that did were desperate for money and had no other choice…just like me.

Although nobody could really pay to go to school, they had collected money to send all the 'street rats' to school. They say that it's for our own good, but we know better. They want us off the streets.

Everyone says we set bad examples for the 'educated' people. When it all comes down to it, it really depends on your definition of educated. We're not stupid. We know these streets better than the people who paved them. We know every alley, shortcut and hideout in this city. We're practically geniuses…at least in street smarts.

I don't care much for history. Who cares about the past, when it's the present that's earning you money. If we wanted people to buy papers, we needed to know what's going on now. Old news won't help us. I guess since newsies aren't the only ones forced to go, they decided that we had to learn that as well.

English…please. After years of speaking incorrectly according to their standards, how do they expect us to write correctly? Some kids my age can barely read. A lot of people are on a lower level of learning than they should be. No offense to them…I am one of them after all. I hear the comments people make about us.

A bell rings inside the building, signaling the first day was about to begin. A collective groan floated through the crowd of people. I was no exception. Boys and girls of all ages filed into the school, a lot like prisoners and feeling no differently.


	2. Chapter 2

Notes: I just wanted everyone to know that I will be updating faster now. Today was my last day of high school, so I'll have more time on my hands to write.

Chapter 2

"This is just great," I muttered, walking into the classroom. Teenagers were everywhere in the small space. They had separated us out by age group, simply telling which ages to go into each classroom.

Living in New York, you'd think I would be used to cramped spaces and the claustrophobia would have faded long ago. The fact was, I wasn't claustrophobic, but I did hate being around a lot of people at once. More so when I was touching them and pushing to get through.

I scanned the group of people, searching for anyone that I recognized. There were several guys that I knew were newsies, but I didn't know them that well. Mostly all that I knew were their names.

I sighed in relief as I spotted someone I knew. Joseph had been a good friend of mine for years. He was like a brother to me. Carefully, I made my way through the crowd to where he sat, looking about as excited as I felt.

"Yo Joe," I greeted him, smiling at his reaction.

"Don't call me that," he grumbled, blue eyes narrowing behind his glasses. I simply grinned…he was so easy to annoy.

"Hey, I need something to keep me entertained while I'm here," I told him, "I've only been here for a few minutes and I'm already bored."

"Well, find some other form of entertainment," he replied, raking a hand through his brown hair.

"You're no fun," I muttered, scowling and turning away from him to look around the room again.

A lady walked to the front of the room, looking like she really didn't want to deal with a bunch of teenagers at the moment. I bet she only took the job because she needed the money. She sighed loudly before beginning to speak.

"Good morning class," she called out. A wave of groans swept through the room. The lady sighed again, "I'm your English teacher, Miss Hudson." Another groan sounded, this time because we got the hardest class first.

"Perfect," someone muttered from in front of me.

"Isn't it," I sarcastically commented under my breath to their answer. I guess I must have been speaking too loud because the guy turned around to face me.

"What did you say," he asked, glaring at me.

"I was just agreeing with you," I replied, "I didn't know anybody heard me." He was one of the Manhattan newsies and that's about all I knew about him. I think I had heard his name before.

"Hey Skittery," Joseph said from beside me. I looked at him in surprise. I didn't know that he knew more people than I did. Then again, I wasn't the most social person.

"I didn't know you were coming here," Skittery commented.

"What other school in New York takes in homeless kids," Joseph asked him.

"I know that," Skittery said, rolling his eyes, "but I figured you wouldn't have wanted to come."

"Who does," I questioned, speaking more to myself than to him. Looking over at Joseph, I quickly poked him in the shoulder, "Do you Joe?"

"No," Joseph muttered, "And don't call me that." Skittery raised an eyebrow at this, while I laughed at my friend. With my friend there, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Shout-Outs:

First of all, I'm glad to see everyone reading this story again! It's nice to know that some people will like this story even a second time around.

Ducks-go-quack-00 - Thanks! I'm glad it's back too! Yeah, Iwas currently a senior. I just graduated today! But I can't officially graduate until May.

Sparks Kelly – Well, I'm sorry that I kept you waiting for so long. I really should have put it up earlier.

Allaboutelephants22 – Wow, you were thinking about it? That makes me feel special. And I will be updating more frequently if I can.

SmartassLeprechaun – This was one of your faves? Yeah! Anyway, I hope to be caught up soon.

Terza – Yes, the original CCs are in this story. I'll write when I can, which should be soon.

Time is a waste of life – Thanks! My seniorness is almost over now. You gotta be grateful for half days! But yeah, I have to wait until graduation officially before I'm considered 'out of high school'.

Shooter O'Brien – Hey, it's ok if you didn't know! It happens. Yeah, I print out all my CCs just in case a story of mine gets deleted. Plus, it's easier to keep track of characters that way, being able to divide them by borough or age.

Goth-Girl04 – I know I already reviewed with this on your story, but I am working on Part of the Team? I couldn't get your e-mail address to show up so I couldn't e-mail you. I hope to have that story updated soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Notes: Ok, here's chapter 3. I'll update one chapter a day(if I can) until I reach where I left off. And now, to continue with the story.

Chapter 3 

"Delphine Wallace," the man at the front of the class called out. The girl groaned at the mention of her real name, but raised her hand. Everyone had been asked to sign in, using their real names…and in alphabetical order. The teacher looked surprised at the time by the number of kids that needed help with that task.

"Here," she replied, then paused, "And could you call me Glinda?" The math teacher, Mr. P, nodded. His real name was way too complicated to say. It was Peittdierieuer, or something like that. Most likely, that was way off.

The 15-year-old looked grateful that he agreed, her eyes showing the emotion through her glasses, which were partially covered by unruly long curly black hair. The rest of her hair was pulled back from her face.

"Alysha Wood," Mr. P called out the last name on the list.

"It's Aqua," she responded, lifting her ice-blue eyes up from the tabletop. You could see the aggravation reflected in them as she blew her light brown hair from her eyes. She returned to her former position, resting her head on her hand, elbow on the table.

"Kids and their nicknames," Mr. P muttered as he put the list down. He glanced up at the teenagers, "So, now that we know everyone's names, how about we get better acquainted?" The students looked up at him with blank expressions, "Tell the class about yourself. What you like…what you don't like…" He trailed off, hoping he had gotten the point across.

"I get it now," a girl sitting in the middle of the room said, obviously not caring if anyone heard her. She had shoulder length reddish-orange hair and bright green eyes the color of emeralds and freckles.

"Then you won't mind going first," Mr. P volunteered her.

"I'm Meggera Campbell, but call me Sparks," she said, "I like dancing and parties. I can't stand the Delancey brothers though…" She paused now, grinning at the sound of applause in the room. Everyone felt the same way for the two brothers, "I also don't like rich people who think they're better than us."

"You mean like the people who put us in here," another girl asked. She had brown eyes and brownish-red hair, which was wavy and short. A bunch of teens behind her nodded in agreement.

"And who are you," the teacher asked.

"Brenna Morrison or Stutter," she replied, "And I agree with Sparks. We see those type of girls walk by every day to their school and I can guarantee you, their school looks nothing like this." She gestured to the room, which was peeling paint and had a leak dripping from the ceiling, "Like this is for our own good." This last part was muttered, but few people caught the words. And the thing was…most of them agreed with this statement.

XXX

The first day was over. Kids of all ages poured out the front doors, only too grateful to escape…even if it couldn't really be called that. They had been set free. A lot of them headed off to the lodging house that they stayed at.

In Queens, the lodging house looked the same as ever, except for the three new beds pushed up against the wall. There were few girls living in the Queens area, so the usual girls that stayed there looked up quickly at the newcomers.

The first girl to stand was Needle. Her green eyes lifted and she gave them a quick smile, "Welcome to the lodging house."

Shooter instantly stepped forward to introduce herself. One green and one purple eye stared down at Needle, who stood about two inches short of Shooter's 5 foot 5 height. Her light brown hair reached her shoulders, and a wide grin was on her face, "Nice to meet you. So, which bed's mine?"

"Whichever one you want," Needle replied, pointing out the new beds, "They delivered those while we were at school."

"I want the one by the window," another girl called out. She had hazel eyes, which peered out from behind glasses and shoulder length brown hair. She stood at 5 foot 1 and was very pale. She turned towards Shooter, "You don't mind, do you?"

"Go ahead," Shooter told her, "Who are you anyway?"

"Zodiac," she replied simply and the two shook hands, "Wow, did you know you have a mark that looks like the Big Dipper on your arm?"

"Yeah," Shooter answered, "It's a birthmark. Why?"

"I love astrology," Zodiac pointed out, "What's your sign?"

Shooter shrugged, then replied, "I don't believe in that stuff."

"Okay," Zodiac told her, "But don't blame me if something bad happens to you." Shooter gave her a weird glance as she went to claim her bed.

Glinda claimed the bed farthest on the right, so that left Shooter with the middle bed. She knew one thing for sure though…it would be an interesting time with these girls.

Shout-Outs:

ShortAtntionSpaz – Yeah, I'm glad you like it. I'll update whenever I possibly can.

Dimonah Tralon – Sorry I made you think I was never going to repost it. I really was gonna earlier, but I was so busy with work, school, and life that I never had time. I'm glad that you're going to keep reading.

Sparks Kelly – I'm so happy that you understand why I couldn't update earlier and that you still like it. And thank you, graduating was worth it.

Shooter O'Brien – Yeah, the 18th was my last day! I guess I'm pretty lucky, but since I don't have a car, I have to think of things to do either in the house or within walking distance. Other than that, it's great!

Allaboutelephants22 – I'm so glad I'm reposting it too. I need some ideas still though, since I haven't written anything for it in so long. I'm also glad that you liked my website. I believe you just read your update!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Unlike in Queens, the Manhattan lodging house was packed with people. A room had been emptied out to make room for all the girls who were going to be staying there. The guys watched in shock as girls walked in the front door. Kloppman had told them that new people would be staying, but he hadn't mentioned the femininity of the guests.

"Are you sure I'm not dreaming," Mush asked, turning to Blink, but his eyes never leaving the trail of girls, "Are they real?"

"I don't know," Blink replied, "But I hope it's real. Here, you check." Then he reached over and pinched him.

"Blink," Mush exclaimed, "You're supposed to do it to yourself, not to me." He glared at his friend, but quickly found his attention caught once again by the new lodgers.

XXX

"Sean, I'll be fine," Stutter insisted to the guy standing beside her. Standing about 5 foot 11, he was muscular with loosely curled brownish-blond hair and green eyes, "We are staying in the same building."

"I know," Sean, or Muscle to some, replied. He looked down at his twin sister, "If you're sure…"

"I am," Stutter told him, "Nothing's going to happen. I'm rooming with girls, remember?" She then followed the rest of the girls to their new room.

The room was about average size, with ten single beds, half on one side, the other five directly opposite. Wheels were attached to the beds in case they needed to move them and they were able to adjust how high they went (if it's hard to imagine, it's like a trundle bed). There were drawers placed between each set of beds, one for each person.

"Nice room," one of the girls noted sarcastically. Sodapop glanced around the room, her green eyes, which had a ring of orange around the pupil, taking it in. She had medium length brown hair with natural blonde highlights, stood about 5 foot 7 and was tanned.

"It could be worse," another voice came in, full of optimism. The owner of the voice stepped inside the room, her green eyes shining from behind silver wire rimmed glasses. She had long, straight brown hair and stood an inch taller than Sodapop, "I mean, look at the view!" Spaz smiled at the group before walking to the window, which displayed the street outside, looking as dirty as always.

"What view," Sodapop asked her, "I see the same thing every day."

"Could be worse," a girl with short dirty blonde hair and brown eyes commented, a bit of sarcasm in her voice. Sunshine stood to her height of 5 foot 4, "At least we can see the sunset." She pointed to where the sun was sinking lower in the sky.

There was silence for a moment as everyone looked around the room. This was all new to them. They may not have like the circumstances, but at least they had somewhere to stay for once.

Shout-Outs:

Dimonah Tralon – Thanks, I appreciate the support and reviews. I can't wait for your next review! I really enjoy getting them!

Allaboutelephants22 – Nah, you didn't scare me…that bad. LOL ; ) I'm used to my friends' weirdness, so it doesn't annoy or scare me that much. I would appreciate any ideas that you or anyone else could give me.

Shooter O'Brien – Yeah, you made your appearance! Yeah, not having a car sucks, but my dad is looking for one for me. I should have one in a few months…hopefully. Hey, as long as it gets me place to place and doesn't break down, I'm happy! I'll still try to update every day if I can.

ShortAtntionSpaz – Hey, you don't always have to write a super long review. It's ok. Well, it's the same story from before, just that I'll get passed the 15th(?) or whatever chapter I ended at last time.

Dreamer Conlon – I'm so happy that I reposted too! Wow, imagine that! LOL. Anyway, hope you like the chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Notes: Hey everyone, I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I had a bit of trouble getting on my account for a while and other than that, I really have no excuse, since I still have the chapters. Anyway, would you guys, girls, people, do me a favor and go to my message board? The address is in my profile. I need characters for a story I'm going to write, but I can't start writing until I have enough characters. And please don't take offense at the name, because I can change it if needed. Thanks in advance if you do.

Chapter 5

"I want this bed," Sparks called out. She was currently bouncing on the mattress. She jumped suddenly, landing on her feet. Obviously, she was looking for her own entertainment.

"Anyone want to play cards," Aqua called out, sounding reluctant in asking. She shrugged, "There's not much else to do." She shuffled the cards in her hands and then began to deal out a game on top of the thin bed covers.

"Why not," someone shrugged. She was 5 foot 7 with straight blonde hair that ended slightly past her shoulders with bangs swept to the side and emerald green eyes. Nova sat on the other end of the bed, while two others sat on the floor on either side.

One of the other girls was Bookworm. Her blue eyes concentrated on the cards she held. Her long brown hair swept over her ears she leaned forward in anticipation of her next move. She sat up straighter in her 5 foot 4 frame to get a better look at the pile of cards on the bed.

"Do you have a…four," Bookworm asked, speaking to the girl next to her. Singer shook her head, her dirty blonde hair moving with it. When she stopped, the light blonde highlights were visible and her hazel eyes looked up.

"Go fish," Singer said suddenly. It was easy to forget to speak when it was just as easy to shake or nod your head, "A eight?"

"Yeah," Nova replied, then sighed, handing her the card.

"King?" This time it was Sparks who shook her head. Singer picked up a card. Sparks in turn asked for a nine and so on.

Somewhere in the middle of the game, Aqua reached over to grab a card from the pile. Soon after, the side of the bed she was on collapsed and cards went flying everywhere. They floated down from above, scattering all over the room.

"Call it a tie," Nova asked, staring up at the cards. Immediately, the four girls involved began laughing.

"I'll go find my cards," Aqua said, sliding off the collapsed half. She lifted it back up, hoping that it would hold that night.

"So, what do you think of the school," Stutter asked, bringing the subject up casually.

"I don't see why we have to go," Singer spoke up, "I can understand the younger kids going, but aren't we a little too old for this?"

"I agree," Bookworm said, "I've been doing fine without school all this time." The other girls nodded their agreement to this.

"Can we please change the subject," Sunshine asked suddenly, "Let's talk about something else…like the boys living here." It was an obvious distraction, but nobody was complaining about it.

XXX

"There must be about 20 of 'em," Blink said.

"You're exaggerating," Jack remarked with a laugh, "There's about ten, but any girls are better than none."

"You don't get it do you," Mush asked him, "Girls…are staying here…in the same lodging house. They're one floor above us."

"I get it," Jack told Mush, "But we really don't know them."

"They could be out to get us," Skittery said sarcastically, "Come on, it's just a bunch of girls. What can they do?"

"They mess with your mind," Race replied and the rest of the guys burst out laughing, "They're girls, that's just what they do."

"Girls can't be that bad," Specs commented, "Give 'em a chance."

"Yeah," Bumlets told everyone, "After all, we'll be seeing a lot of them in the next few months."

Shout-Outs:

Ccatt – Hey, it's all right if it took you a while. I'm so happy that everyone likes that I've reposted it. I'll update whenever I can.

Written Sparks – Your character's nickname is Nova, I checked. In fact, she made her appearance this chapter! Yeah! Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and I will update soon…hopefully, because like I said, I have all the chapters up to were I stopped when it got taken off.

Sparks Kelly – Don't you mean 'sorry you didn't review'? I'm thinking you did, but anyway, I hope you're feeling better now and your schedule has calmed down. I know what it is to be busy.

Ch. 4 review (Sparks) – Yeah, I think the girls are hilarious too. They are a lot of fun to write.

Dimonah Tralon – Yup, your character is in Manhattan. I had to look it up though to see which one it was that you sent in…LOL. She made an appearance this chapter too! Yeah, I love new characters.

Notes: Anyway, don't forget to check out my casting call on my message board. I would love to have more characters for that story. I only have four right now.


	6. Chapter 6

Notes: Ok people, I'm back. Sorry it took so long. Had a lot of plans this weekend for my b-day. Yeah, I'm 18! Anyway, hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I'll try to update again soon.

Chapter 6

"Is this the right place," one of three girls asked, standing in front of the Brooklyn Lodging House, "Nobody's here." Scribble's dull blue eyes looked around quickly, searching for any sign of life. Her soft curly brown hair blew slightly in the breeze before resting slightly below her shoulders.

"What are you three doing here," a new voice cut in. Spot looked at them from his position in the doorway, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"We were told to come here," the second girl called out, her dark brown eyes rising. She brushed back a strand of light brown hair, which reached to her mid-back. Rebel stood two inches taller than Scribble at 5 foot 6, "We got sent here because of the people in charge of the new school."

"A bunch of girls," Spot muttered under his breath.

"Were you expecting a bunch of guys," the third girl asked. Dani had blonde hair that stopped a little above her shoulders and blue-green eyes. She stood at 5 foot 3. A hint of teasing was evident in her voice.

"Brooklyn might be a little tough for you," Spot told them, a smirk on his face, "Hey Scribble."

"You two know each other," Rebel asked, "You could have mentioned it before. It would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"I used to live in the area," Scribble replied, "but I've never been here before." They stood in silence for a short while.

"So are you going to let us in," Dani questioned. Spot glared at her but nodded.

"Your room is this way," he said, sounding like he had better things to do with his time.

The room was small, but large enough for the five beds inside. Four were nicely made, but the fifth was occupied by a young girl. She stared at them in silence for a minute and then smiled widely at them, her blue eyes lighting up.

"Who's that," Scribble whispered over to Spot.

"That's Pillow," he replied, "Her older brother is a newsie, so she stays here."

"Pillow," Rebel asked, "What kind of name is that?"

"Let's just say, if you wake up and discover your pillow is missing, you know it's her," Spot answered, shrugging and then left them to get situated.

Pillow curled a strand of dark brown hair around her finger. "Yeah! I finally get roommates! This is gonna be fun!" The 10-year-old grinned, "We can stay up and talk all night."

Suddenly, the door opened and another girl stepped inside. She didn't say a word to anyone, but went to claim the last bed, which didn't have anything thrown on top of it.

The girl had shoulder length, straight black hair and bright blue eyes. She stood up to her 5 foot 6 height when she noticed everyone staring.

"Hi, who are you," Pillow asked, breaking the silence.

"The name's Vaughn Kensington, but everyone calls me Smartass," the girl replied harshly, annoyed with having to answer the simple question.

"Smarta- yeah, nice to meet you," Scribble remarked, holding out her hand slowly.

"If you're going to say my name, say it right," Smartass told her, ignoring the offered hand.

"What's her problem," Pillow commented to nobody in particular. She received one glare and three shrugs in reply. The three girls exchanged a glance, not knowing exactly how to deal with a hyperactive kid and someone who obviously didn't like people much. This was going to be a crazy time.

XXX

(Manhattan)

The next morning, the girls were awakened by the sounds of yelling. Kloppman went from bunk to bunk, making sure everyone was awake. Groans came from around the room, but Kloppman paid no attention to them.

"You awake yet," Spaz asked, poking a lump under one of the blankets. Bookworm glared up at her, irritation clear on her face.

"Go away," she snapped at the optimistic girl, "It's too early."

"But it's sunny outside," Spaz told her, "Everyone is happy!"

"Not me," Bookworm replied, but reluctantly pushed the blankets off herself.

"Hey girls," Nova called out, "Where's the washroom?"

"We don't have one," Sunshine replied. The girls looked at each other, knowing where this was leading.

XXX

The girls slowly approached the door to the lower level washroom. After approaching Kloppman about their problem, he had simply told them to use the guys washroom until the girls one was provided.

"Hello," Sparks called out, giggling a little as she opened the door, one hand covering her eyes.

"Girls," Mush exclaimed upon seeing them. All the guys in the room froze to look at them.

'What are you doing here," Jack asked, glancing somewhat nervously around at the others.

To be truthful, it was quite a sight. Guys were everywhere. Some still had soap on their faces, trying not to blink in pain of getting it in their eyes. Others had their mouths hanging open, making black circles appear in white globs of shaving cream…or their substitute for it. One even had his pants down at his ankles, about to enter one of the bathrooms. He blushed slightly in embarrassment before pulling them up quickly, hoping his boxers hadn't been seen by one of the girls.

"We were told to share with you," Sparks replied, removing her hand from her eyes. There was silence from all the girls…that is until Sparks started laughing at the sight of the groggy newsboys and the other girls followed her example.

Shout-Outs:

ShortAtntionSpaz – I'm a fan of long chapters too! Unfortunately, I don't have the ideas to expand any of them. Hopefully I'll get some longer ones out here.

Sparks Kelly – Sorry about the play getting cancelled. That isn't cool. I would be upset too. Yeah, I like to write Race's character. The girls are great, aren't they?

Allaboutelephants22 – It's ok, I don't expect you to review every chapter. Well, hope your Spring Break was fun. I don't have one, since I'm graduated. But I did get to celebrate my 18th b-day this weekend. And very few people can scare me. I end up scaring more people myself. Lol

Dimonah Tralon – Could you send in the info? I need you to post it on my message board. The link is in my profile. It's only because I need some specific things that aren't normally asked for.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Wake up," a voice yelled in Rebel's ear the next morning. She simply groaned and tried to ignore the young girl, "It's time for school!"

"I know," Rebel muttered, opening her eyes slightly to see Pillow's face inches from her own. She sighed and rolled over to face the other direction. Suddenly, she felt something slam into her.

"I think Spot forgot to mention something," she mumbled to herself. That's also when she noticed the absence of something soft underneath her head.

The object came into contact with her a second time and another seconds after. Before another hit could come, Rebel turned again and blocked it with her hands, grabbing the soft object from Pillow's hands.

Pillow simply stuck her tongue out at Rebel before literally bouncing to the next bed. Rebel sat up to see the young girl poking Dani and giving her no mercy. The girl didn't stop until everybody was awake and at least attempting to move from their beds.

"Don't touch me," Smartass warned her as Pillow moved for her bed. Pillow looked like she wanted to argue, but shrugged her shoulders and ran to get ready.

"There's gotta be something wrong with that girl," Dani commented, "She's way too hyper for this early in the morning." The other girls nodded, still groggy from their interesting and somewhat rude awakening.

"That's what my brother says," Pillow came in happily, "Now, who's walking me to school?"

XXX

About an hour later, the girls watched with relief as the 10-year-old skipped off to class. They entered into their classroom, the usual yelling seeming like whispers compared to the lodging house. Scribble immediately found a seat next to Specs, a friend of hers for years.

"Thanks," she told him, pulling the chair out. He had saved it for her because he knew how she wasn't always the most comfortable around people.

"I wish you were in Manhattan," he whispered over to her, "It would be nice to know at least one of the girls there. And they're loud."

Scribble laughed at this. After Specs had lived with a bunch of rowdy boys for most of his life, he thought that girls were loud, "They can't be any louder than you guys. What happened?"

"One of the beds collapsed," he explained, "They're a floor above us so all we heard was this loud thump. A bunch of the guys went up there, and there were cards everywhere. And this morning…" He trailed off, looking like he was blushing slightly. Scribble noticed this and started to laugh slightly.

"What," she asked, eager to hear what he was going to say.

"We found out that we have to share our washroom with them," he finally said. Scribble looked at him, wondering what was so bad about it. He must have known what she was thinking, because he answered, "Let's just say that now you have to knock before entering."

XXX

Joseph sighed and looked at the pages in front of him. Out of all the subjects, English was the one that he hated with a passion…and he had to do it at nine in the morning.

Now math and science were easy to him. That his brain could handle. But start asking him to write a paragraph and his mind just blanked. He glanced over at his desk partner, Aqua, and scowled upon noting that she was writing unceasingly and never looked up from her paper.

This was just embarrassing because she was a year younger than he was and had more English skills than he did. Sighing, he picked up his pencil and started to write, but had no idea how it would turn out.

When the bell finally rang for English to let out, Joseph was one of the first to the door. He caught up with a few of his friends as he exited, and all of them complained about the work they had to do that day, a horrible invention that they called homework.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Shooter glanced up from her work and turned to the person next to her. Glinda looked up. Since they and Zodiac and Needle were the only Queens girls, they all agreed to sit together. After all, they would have to get used to each other eventually.

"Do you know how to do this problem," Shooter asked the 15-year-old. Glinda shook her head.

"I don't really get any of this," she answered quietly. Next to her, Zodiac gave a sigh of frustration, directed down at her paper.

"My horoscope said I'd face a dilemma today," Zodiac said, turning to the other two, "I had no idea it meant math."

"You are way too paranoid," Shooter told her, shaking her head in amusement.

"It's not that hard," Needle commented. The other girls turned to glare at her, except for Glinda, who simply raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"You're one of few," Shooter told her, glancing around the classroom, where most students were tapping pencils against desks in deep thought, obviously struggling with the work.

"I guess it just comes naturally," Needle answered, shrugging and returning to her work.

"What are you doing," Zodiac asked her suddenly. Needle gave her a confused glance, "My horoscope said that help would arrive to assist me."

"I'm not sure that this is the dilemma it's talking about," Needle replied slowly, "but I'll help anyway." They spent the rest of the class trying to understand the complicated numbers on the pages before them.

XXX

"What is that subject created for anyway," Zodiac commented as they exited the classroom.

"I liked English better," Glinda said. The rest of the girls agreed with her. It seemed like they all had a natural talent in the subject.

"I can handle that," Shooter told them, "but all these numbers and equations make my head hurt."

"At least the day is over," Needle spoke up, "I had no idea school could be so hard."

"It's only the second day too," Shooter commented sarcastically, "They're pushing us way too fast."

XXX

When the girls reached the Queens Lodging House, they immediately headed up to their room. School had taken a lot more out of them than they had thought.

Walking up the stairs however, they were surprised to pass a guy on the second floor. He silently watched them as they walked up to the next flight of stairs.

He had thick, messy brown hair and bright green eyes. He stood at 5 foot 8, had pale skin. A closer look would have revealed two scars, a deep one going from his eye to his nose. The other, shallow and running along his neck A small piece of his right earlobe was missing as well.

"Who are you," Zodiac asked suddenly, turning from her point on the stairs. He turned and looked up at them suspiciously.

"They call me Knife," was all he said before he headed down the hallway to his room.

Glinda nervously played with her earrings, "He's…interesting." Obviously, there was no better word to describe the boy they had just met.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I groaned and fell back onto the bed, the soft impact of the mattress feeling even better than it had yesterday. I could only take so many words and numbers floating through my mind before I felt like using the wall as a punching bag.

It was only seconds later that a shadow fell over me, "Hi!" I looked up at the hyper girl standing over me, her ever-optimistic grin in place. How she could do that without straining a muscle, I'll never know.

Then of course, it took fewer muscles to smile than to frown. Luckily, I chose to look rather indifferent and didn't do either. No muscles required. Anyway, I must be tired if I'm thinking about smiling and how much damage it does to your face.

"What," I replied, staring back at Spaz. I don't understand why some people think it's their job to try and make me more cheerful. Then again, she was like this to everybody.

"Let's go to Tibby's," she told me, "Everyone is going and they wanted me to ask you to come. So…will you?" She grinned again, so much that my own face was hurting.

"Sure, why not," I answered, shrugging and sliding off the bed. She pretty much rushed out the door at the thought of food. I followed behind her at a slower pace.

When we finally arrived, I saw what she meant by everyone being there. Both girls in my classes and the guys from the lodging house were there. You could barely hear anything over the talking, laughing and yelling filling the place. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the waiters who worked there. While they would be getting a lot of money, they had to put up with all of us.

Almost every booth was filled, so I decided to take an empty one near the back. Laying my hands down on the table, I placed my head down. I had no idea how much I would eventually regret it.

"What are you doing by yourself," a voice asked. I raised my head first and then my eyes. Sparks and a few others were standing there.

"Because I want to be," I replied, not really caring at the moment if it hurt their feelings.

"Can we sit here," Sparks questioned, acting as if she hadn't heard what I had just said.

"Go ahead," I said sarcastically, reluctantly moving over to the wall, letting other people in. I doubted she would have recognized my sarcasm anyway. Stutter, Sodapop, Bookworm, and Nova sat down. Three sat on the other side, while Nova and Bookworm sat on my side. Glancing around quickly, I noticed some of the other girls sitting with the guys, obviously flirting a bit with them…one thing I would never dream of doing.

"So…anything fun going on," Sodapop asked in a sarcastic tone. Pretty much everyone knew the answer to that question…no.

"What do you think," I questioned back, rolling my eyes.

"I think you need to chill out," Stutter spoke up. I smiled slightly, knowing of my reputation of being too quiet and unemotional.

"I know, we can have a party," Sparks exclaimed.

"When," Sodapop asked, "Perhaps when we're finally out of school. We've barely started and I already want out."

"Tomorrow," Sparks told her.

"We don't get out until next year," Sodapop explained to the girl, "Until then, there's no time for parties."

"Sure there is," Spaz appeared at our table, "Just the girls…we can all sleep-over!"

"We already live together," Nova said, "It's not exactly something different."

"We could think of something to do," Bookworm commented, "We don't really know each other. It could be a chance to do that."

"I wanna come too," a voice sounded…a male voice to be exact. We all turned to see who it was. Jack Kelly grinned at us from the booth behind ours.

"Girls only," Sodapop told Jack. We had met all the guys on our first day there. They eventually decided to come up and meet the crazy girls upstairs.

"Hear that guys…they aren't gonna let us come," he said, speaking to everyone at his booth. A collective groan came from the table.

"Why not," Blink asked, peering over the back of the seat. He gave us the most pathetic look he could with one eye. I actually found it rather amusing.

"You girls still embarrassed about this morning," Jack asked.

"I think you guys should be more embarrassed," Nova pointed out, "The looks on your faces were priceless!" The girls at the table laughed as a few of the guys turned red, thinking about the experience.

"And what exactly happened this morning," a voice nobody recognized joined in. A guy turned around, resting his arm on the back of the booth, grinning at the looks on their faces.

"Who are you," Sparks asked, "I didn't see you yesterday."

"I'm new," he said, "The bulls found me and are forcing me to go to school, staring tomorrow. I'm Comedy." He had black hair and deep brown eyes. He stood at 5 foot 8, "So, what were you talking about?"

"Nothing," Race told him quickly, "Nothing important." He was very unconvincing, but Comedy didn't push it.

"How about Friday," Sparks asked, coming back to their previous conversation.

"That sounds like an eternity away," Stutter said, leaning her head back in slight frustration. She came face-to-face with another guy, who was turned back to listen in on their conversation. In surprise, she sat back up, groaning when their heads smacked together.

"Sorry," Swifty apologized quickly, bringing his hand back to rub at the sore spot.

"I think they gave you the wrong nickname," Stutter mumbled. Swifty looked embarrassed at this, and apologized again.

"I didn't mean to," he told her, speaking quickly, "I was just listening and then you leaned back and smacked into me. But I was here, so maybe I knocked into you. I'm so sorry. It won't happen again. It was just an accident."

"Don't worry about it," Stutter cut him off, smiling at the flustered look on his face, "It was my fault too."

"Call it even," he asked and she nodded. He grinned and then turned back to his table.

"What time," Mush asked when Stutter rejoined the conversation.

"Why do you want to know," Bookworm asked him.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Mush said, "I know some fun games."

"Spin the bottle doesn't count," Nova commented with a smile, "Like we've said before…no boys allowed."

"They're trying to ruin our fun," Mush muttered over to Blink, "I wasn't thinking of that anyway." The girls laughed at this, not quite believing him. Even if Mush was telling the truth, the girls liked to tease the guys about the fact that girls were now taking over the lodging house.

It wasn't until this moment that they noticed the waiter that was standing at the end of their table impatiently, ready to take down their order. He was tapping his foot against the ground and glaring at them.

"Sorry," Bookworm told him, suddenly remembering why they were there in the first place.

"What's on the menu," Sparks asked him. The waiter sighed before listing off the foods they had in a bored voice, his eyes staring off at the ceiling. They ordered, some purposely taking their time to annoy the man, but eventually they all told what they wanted.

XXX

When they returned to the lodging house, the girls were surprised to see that two bunk beds had been placed in their room. The top of one was occupied by a new girl, who turned quickly at the sound of more people entering. She didn't look very excited to be there. Neither did the two other girls occupying the bottom of that bunk and the top of the other.

The one who had turned had dark brown hair and hazel eyes, dark lashes surrounding them. She had olive skin and stood at about 5 foot 2. It was obvious that she was Italian.

The second girl shifted her light brown eyes to them. She had very dark brown hair, natural chestnut-brown highlights running through it. She had a trim athletic build and a long oval face. She stood at 5 foot 3, "I'm Cady Galty, but call me Ducati." She paused for a second, everyone gazing at her in confusion, "Don't ask." Ducati pointed over to the first girl, "From what I get, her name is Isabella Angelo, but call her Blitz. After that she started rambling in Italian."

"My name is Elizabeth, but my friends call me Snow," the third girl spoke up. She had brown hair that reached her mid back and green eyes. Her hair was done up in pigtail braids. She stood at 5 foot 1 and had very fair skin.

The girls looked in on the new arrivals, wondering if this would make life any different than it had been before. They guessed that they would have to find out.


	10. Chapter 10

Note: I know that it took forever for me to post the next chapter. It's been busy, but it's no excuse for not posting chapters that I've already written, especially since I'm reposting it. I'll try to get more chapters up, since I'm trying to update every story possible before I leave for college on Saturday. I don't know if I'll have access to this site or not after then. However, I'll update when I can get around to it. Hopefully, it won't be too long.

Chapter 10

The girls trudged upstairs when they reached the lodging house. Well, Pillow actually jumped onto each step, so it was a miracle that she was still moving when they reached their floor.

"Want do you want to do now," Pillow asked, bouncing up and down on her bed. Her eyes were still bright with energy and it was obvious that it wasn't going to go down soon.

"Yeah, what are we doing," a new voice joined in. All the girls looked up quickly, spotting two new girls in the room, along with some new beds.

The girl that had spoken had slightly wavy dark brown hair, which had burgundy gold tints and curled in at the edges. Her eyes were a dark brown and she had olive skin and an angular face. A scar was visible from her chin to her neck, though not enough to draw a lot of attention. She stood up to her height of 5 foot 3, a smile on her face.

"More new girls," Pillow exclaimed, "I have even more roommates now!"

"Lela Adame, but everyone calls me Chaos," the first girl introduced herself.

"I wonder why," Smartass remarked sarcastically. It was already evident that Chaos was hyper and the last thing anyone needed was two hyper people in the same lodging house.

"Catherine Dwyer or Artist," the other girl said. Artist had curling auburn hair, hazel eyes and freckles. She stood at 5 foot 4.

"Nice to meet you," Scribble spoke up, "You get sent down today?"

"Yeah," Artist replied, "The cops found me selling my drawings and paintings in the city and brought me here."

"I came on my own," Chaos remarked. All eyes focused on her when she said that. Except Pillow, who looked excited at the prospect on someone else who came to school willingly.

"You…wanted to come to school," Rebel asked.

"Well, not for the academic stuff," Chaos replied, "That's boring." A few of the girls looked relieved at this information. Even though not all of them hated school, they didn't like the idea of being forced against their will.

"What are you talking about," Pillow asked, "School is fun!"

"Of course only you would say that," Dani told her.

"I bet the teachers love her," Smartass muttered, feeling sorry for the teachers who had to put up with the girl.

"I don't want to go," Artist said, "They're just doing it to take away all our creativity."

"They don't want us on the streets, that's for sure," Scribble agreed, "but school's not really a bad thing."

Suddenly, an object went flying across the room, hitting Chaos right in the face. She grabbed the pillow from the ground, looking around for her target. She looked at the others to an answer as to who the culprit was. Silently, all but Artist pointed over to where Pillow sat on her bed.

Chaos grinned somewhat evilly before throwing the pillow back at the girl and jumping off her own bed.

"They'll be busy for a while," Dani said, sounding relieved at the thought of the young girl using her hyperactivity in another way.

"You can't start a pillow fight," Pillow whined from the other side of the room, "That's my job. You can ask my brother and he'll say the same thing."

"I'll say what," a male voice asked from the door.

"Joey," Pillow shouted, running to her brother, "Tell Chaos about the pillow fighting rule!"

Joseph raised an eyebrow at this, "What rule?" Pillow pouted, looking up at him expectantly, "No one else usually starts them besides you. I remember that time you attacked me in the morning."

"What are you doing here," Artist asked.

"Just checking to make sure my sister isn't driving you crazy," he replied.

"Who's that behind you," Pillow questioned. The guy standing behind Joseph stood up tall as he turned around.

"This is Tommy Yammat or Nosey," Joseph remarked, not sounding too thrilled with introducing the guy. Nosey stood at 5 foot 8 and was really skinny. He had strangely brown hair and chocolate brown eyes that shown from behind glasses.

"Just wanted to see what was going on," Nosey shrugged, not at all uncomfortable with the few glares sent in his direction. He gave the group one last look before heading off.

"I can see where he gets the nickname," Smartass said.

"You've gotta watch sometimes," Joseph told them, "I can see he gives off a bad impression to a lot of people…even Spot."

"If Spot's annoyed with him, he must be bad," Scribble commented, knowing Spot better than the other girls.

"Isn't this gonna be fun," Dani remarked as Joseph left and Pillow resumed her conversation with Chaos. The other girls didn't look too happy about the new male addition to the lodging house either. Well, either way, they'd have to get used to it.

Shout-Outs:

TheAngryPrincess13 – That does suck. I could never wait that long to get Newsies. Luckily, I found my copy at a Blockbuster…and it was the last one they had.

SmartassLeprechaun – Well, you wanna be a senior more than I do. It's gonna be a long year. Thanks for the character.

Koodles4you – It's ok, you weren't pushy at all. I really wanted to make that chapter longer, but I couldn't think of anything. And I desperately wanted to update. You didn't nothing wrong. I've been feeling rushed anyway with school starting in a week and getting everything together.

Akiki Iris – I hope I can keep these chapters sounding good. Thanks for reviewing!

Sparks Kelly – Yeah, I love it when I have a character's personality down. As for the party, I'll have to see what I can work out with that.

Geometrygal – You loved the last chapter! Yeah, that makes me feel special! I love it when you love it! Woah, I think I'm getting a little hyper. That doesn't happen too often. Anyway, hope you loved this one as well.

Written Sparks – I'm glad that you liked that line. I liked it too. And don't worry about reviewing every chapter.

Chapter 11


	11. Chapter 11

Notes: Wow, I never realized how long it's been since I last updated this. I was looking through my profile and saw this and suddenly decided that I should probably update. I feel bad that it took me so long, but I fixed up the next few chapters as well so I can post those probably by this weekend. Though I have classes starting tomorrow, I'll have plenty of time since it's only the first week. Anyway, though most of you have read this story already, I hope you enjoy reading it once more.

Brooklyn Lodging House

All girls in the bunkroom turned at the sound of knocking from the door, followed shortly after by yelling. Dani was the first to move towards the door. She opened it to reveal a new girl standing there. Nosey was standing a few feet away, listening almost patiently to what she was saying. Evidently, she had caught him snooping around. Nosey had a small, satisfied smirk on his face as he walked away.

"Uh…hi," Scribble greeted the newcomer before she could enter the room.

"Hi, I'm Mink," the 14-year-old girl exclaimed, her earlier anger completely gone. She stood at 5 foot 3. Her black hair just barely touched her shoulders and her dark brown eyes sparkled excitedly.

"What was that about," Rebel asked her.

"Found him hanging around outside the door," Mink replied, "Looked like he was listening in."

"When isn't he," Dani muttered, "That's the second time someone's caught him today."

"We can't be that interesting, can we," Chaos asked.

"We're the only girls in this lodging house," Artist pointed out.

"He probably listens to find things to tell the boys," Scribble spoke up.

"He's like our own personal stalker," Smartass remarked sarcastically, "And an annoying one at that."

"I'll beat him up if he tries anything," Minks said.

"And I'll help you," Smartass replied. Suddenly she glanced out the still open doorway, "Can we help you?" She glared at the guy, who was trying to sneak passed.

"No," he replied, sounding a little nervous, "I didn't want to disturb you so I tried to get by without drawing attention to myself."

"Well you did," Smartass told him.

"Calm down," Dani told her, "He wasn't doing anything."

"Sorry," the guy said, stepping forward, "I didn't mean anything." He was shorter than most 17 year olds, standing at 5 foot 4. He was extremely skinny and had rugged brown hair. Brown eyes looked embarrassingly out from glasses, which were partially hidden by a gray newsie cap.

"Aren't you gonna tell us your name," Mink asked suddenly. He jumped slightly at hearing her loud voice.

"Quills," he said, holding out a hand to Smartass, hoping to ease the obvious tension between them. She simply glared at his outstretched hand and Scribble quickly moved in to shake it, "It was nice to meet you all. I'm…gonna go now." He moved away slowly before heading to the guys' bunkroom. Scribble shut the door after he left.

"He seemed nice," Chaos commented, breaking the deafening silence that followed. Her plan didn't work because still, no one spoke.

"Somebody say something," Mink yelled suddenly, "It's too quiet."

"Now it's not," Smartass remarked, glaring at the girl. Mink simply shrugged. She obviously didn't care what anyone thought of her attitude.

(The Next Day)

The next morning found the girls in school once again. Mrs. Hudson was at the front of the class, droning on about nouns and verbs. It was obvious that some already knew what she was talking about, since Mrs. Hudson acted like they were kindergartners that knew nothing. She was a nice enough lady, but didn't seem to understand that things made sense after about the fifth time it was explained.

A lot of teens liked the class and put all their effort into their work. Then, there were the few who didn't understand it at all. One of these was Blitz, who spoke more Italian than the native tongue of the people in New York.

She sighed as she looked at the board and the scribbled chalk words on it. Although she got the basic point of it, the hardest part was getting it down onto paper.

Nico Mazzari, or Crusoe to others, leaned over to see how she was doing. When the teacher found out that he was fluent in Italian, she immediately sat him next to Blitz to help out if needed. This was all thanks because Mrs. Hudson made everyone tell an interesting fact about themselves and that was his.

Crusoe stood at 6 foot 2, probably the tallest in his class. He was on the skinny side with sandy blond hair that was short, uneven and choppy. His dark brown eyes studied the board quickly before turning back to her.

Both Crusoe and Blitz were glad when the bell rang for class to end, and both for different reasons. Her because of the difficulty with the subject and him because he was tired of explaining, which he had to do every once in a while.

His friend Freddie Van Orden or Daft met up with him outside their next classroom. Daft was 5 foot 6 and had a nice build. His shaggy black hair was in great contrast to his clear light green eyes.

"How do you understand that," Daft asked, referring to the previous class.

"It's not that hard," Crusoe replied.

"To you maybe," Daft told him, "You've read that book enough times." He pointed to the copy of Robinson Crusoe in his hands.

"You should try it sometime," Crusoe told him, his face expressing absolutely no emotion. He walked in the classroom as he said it…the second that the bell rang.


	12. Chapter 12

Notes: Sorry that it took me so long to post this. I've been trying to think of new ideas for stories, but lately I've hit a wall of writer's block when it comes to Newsies. I should probably watch the movie again, which I likely will in the next few days, due to the fact that tomorrow is my last final and then I head home. I have some packing to do.

Chapter 12

The girls from Manhattan went to Tibby's directly after school. Therefore, they were surprised when a boy appeared before them suddenly and opened the door, bowing before them dramatically. A few of the girls laughed at this and thanked him as they entered the diner.

He smiled widely in return, but didn't utter a word in greeting. He had a shaggy, curly mop of golden hair, atop which he wore a dark gray, plaid newsie hat. His shirt was a washed out gray color, a black vest worn over it. His black knickers were patched and he wore a pair of scuffed black boots.

"Who's that," Bookworm whispered over to David, who had decided to join the group that day. Since his father's injury hadn't completely healed yet, David's father had decided that David and Les would attend the school as well. Sarah stayed at home to help out. The boys didn't complain, seeing as how otherwise, they'd be stuck at home or selling papers by themselves.

"His name is Noah," David explained, "Most people call him Golden though."

"How do you know," Nova asked him, "He hasn't spoken a word to anybody."

"He can't talk that well," he told them, then pointed to the pad of paper and a small stub of a pencil that Golden was holding, "He communicates with that mostly."

They watched as the last of the girls walked in. Golden followed closely after them, closing the door on the boys behind them. The girls had to laugh at the slightly angry looks on the boys' faces.

"I haven't seen them here before," Ducati suddenly motioned to four girls at a nearby booth. They all turned to look at them.

"They're from Queens," Aqua told her, "Needle is a friend of mine from over there."

"Well, let's welcome them," Sparks suggested, jumping up excitedly and heading over to their table. The four girls looked up as she approached, "Hi, welcome to Manhattan!"

"Hey," Shooter greeted her. Glinda nodded slightly in greeting.

"Can I join you," Sparks asked. Shooter moved over immediately, while the other girls looked somewhat uneasily at the hyper girl.

"What's your sign," Zodiac asked suddenly, all discomfort leaving immediately.

"(1)Uh…wheat," Sparks shrugged, looking slightly confused.

"No, what's your astrological sign," Zodiac asked again.

"Oh, I don't know," Sparks replied happily, "What's that?"

"Nevermind," Zodiac muttered, "At least I know what to expect." Sparks didn't seem to really care and started talking excitedly to Shooter.

"I know my Chinese Zodiac," Aqua spoke up, appearing by the table, "I'm the rabbit. I also know I'm an Aries. I don't really care that much about it though."

"You don't care," Zodiac asked in surprise, "What if it said that something were to happen to you?"

"I just take life as it comes," Aqua shrugged, "I don't want the stars to decide it for me."

"Who's that," Needle suddenly asked in an awed voice. All the girls turned to see who she was talking about. A guy they didn't recognize was entering the diner, walking in like he owned the place. He was tall at about 6 feet and had shaggy, golden brown hair. He had tan skin and crystal blue eyes. If you looked closely enough, two scars were visible. One in his eyebrow and another reaching from wrist to elbow. He was skinny, but looked strong.

"I've never seen him before," Shooter replied.

"That's Jinx," Jack said, appearing behind them, "I met him in P. E. class."

"This is one of those days where I wonder why they separate the guys and girls in that class," Aqua muttered. Everyone that heard turned to look at her. She looked slightly embarrassed, "Sorry, did I say that out loud?" They nodded, a few with smiles on their faces.

"Yeah, but I have to agree with you," Sunshine said.


End file.
